The United Nations has called on the Israeli regime to halt all its illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and withdraw the settlers from the Palestinian land.

The construction site of a new housing project at an illegal Israeli settlement in east al-Quds (Jerusalem) (file photo)

“Israel must, in compliance with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, cease all settlement activities without preconditions,” a report by a UN human rights inquiry said on Thursday.

“It (Israel) must immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers from the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories),” the report added.

It said that the Israeli settlements violate the 1949 Geneva Conventions, forbidding the transfer of people into the occupied territory, which could be equal to war crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli regime increased its settlement activities after an upgrade in the Palestinian status at the United Nations General Assembly on November 29, 2012. The 193-member General Assembly voted 138-9 with 41 abstentions to upgrade Palestine’s status to non-member observer state.

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